About Pinus montezumae Lamb.
Pinus montezumae Lamb. is a tree that typically reaches around 35 m in height and 80 cm in trunk diameter, occasionally growing as tall as 40 m with a 1 m diameter trunk. It has a rounded crown and dark brown bark. Its needles grow in fascicles of five, measure 20–35 cm long, and range in color from dark green to glaucous bluish-green. When open, its cones are 8–20 cm long and 5–10 cm broad, and have stiff scales. This species is distributed from the Mexican state of Nuevo León at 26° N latitude in the north, south to Guatemala at 15° N latitude, and west to the Mexican state of Jalisco at 22° N latitude. It grows on both the Sierra Madre Oriental and Sierra Madre Occidental mountain ranges, at altitudes between 2000 and 3200 m above sea level. Its habitats receive 800–1000 mm of rainfall per year. Most of this tree’s range sees rain mostly in summer, while the state of Veracruz has year-round distributed precipitation and a very wet climate. In contrast, specimens from Jalisco grow in semi-arid locations. It occurs in warm temperate to cool climates, with average annual temperatures from 18°C to 10°C, and usually receives winter snow at the highest altitudes of its distribution. The wood of Pinus montezumae is yellowish-brown white with light brown heartwood; it is hard and heavy, and used for construction. The tree is valued for its resin. The resin is so flammable that a cut branch will burn as a torch when ignited, emitting black smoke. For this reason, ocote wood from this tree is very commonly used as a fire starter for campfires and barbecues in Mexico. Growth is slow for the first three to six years, after which the tree becomes fast-growing. The names of the city of Ocotlán in Jalisco, Mexico and the city of Ocotal in Nicaragua are derived from this tree. It is planted in plantations at mid altitudes in South Africa and Queensland, Australia, and at high altitudes in Kenya, Malawi, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Bolivia. Planted trees near sea level in New Zealand and New South Wales, Australia have performed very well.
